Thursday, June 25, 2026 - The Nigeria Sanctions Committee (NSC) has backed the decision by the United States to impose sanctions on three bureau de change (BDC) firms and several individuals over alleged links to terrorism financing.
The sanctions, announced by the US Treasury Department on
Tuesday, targeted Mukhtar Muhammad Adamu and three Nigerian BDC operators, Generation
Currency Bureau De Change Limited, Nine to Nine Exchange Bureau De Change
Limited, and Manhattan Bureau De Change Limited, for allegedly facilitating
financial transactions on behalf of the Islamic State (ISIS).
According to US authorities, Adamu used businesses operating
in Lagos and Kano as channels for moving funds linked to the terrorist group.
The measures formed part of a broader international crackdown on individuals
and entities across Europe, the Middle East and West Africa accused of helping
ISIS transfer funds across borders.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, June 24, the NSC said
the US action came shortly after Adamu and some of the affected firms were
included on the Nigeria Sanctions List published on June 18, 2026. “The Nigeria
Sanctions Committee welcomes the recent inclusion of Mukthar Muhammad Adamu,
Nine to Nine BDC and Generation BDC Limited by the United States Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) yesterday,” the committee said.
The committee explained that the designation followed
extensive intelligence gathering, financial investigations and inter-agency
assessments. It added that there were reasonable grounds to believe the
affected individuals and entities had “facilitated, financed, supported or
otherwise contributed” to the activities of the Islamic State West Africa
Province (ISWAP) and other associated terrorist networks.
The federal government also reiterated its directive to
financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions
to comply fully with sanctions obligations, including freezing assets, filing
suspicious transaction reports and notifying relevant authorities of any
matches.
The NSC commended the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for their roles in disrupting terrorism financing networks.
The committee said Nigeria remains committed to ensuring that terrorists and their financiers have no safe haven within the country's financial system and pledged continued collaboration with domestic and international partners to strengthen financial integrity and combat terrorism financing.
Those recently added to the Nigeria sanctions list include
Ibrahim Yakubu Ogirima, Mukhtar Muhammad Adamu, Adamu Chiroma, Ibrahim
Abubakar, Abdullahi Umar Usman, Babangida Muhammed Adamu Hammajam, Abbal Bako
& Sons Bureau De Change Limited, Generation Currency BDC Limited and Nine
to Nine BDC Limited.
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